Sub and cement basement floor

[wolfman1138]

I am looking for some advice on how to handle my sub in my revamped basement HT. I recently purchased a SVS SB13 for use in the basement HT. We have a stained cement floor and plan on only using rugs for sparse damping. I am concerned about placing the sub directly on the floor due to vibrations, at the same time, I am hesitant to use spike because 95lb sub + kids = deep grooves in the cement.

I have seen isolation pads and the likes, but again, this seems like a wood floor echo sort of issue.

I was thinking of some sort of rubber mat. Cut it to just slightly smaller than the sub itself. It would prevent vibration transfer and movement yet not look suspicious.

Any advice from other basement dwellers? :)

Thanks in advance,

- Neal

[steveinaz]

Set it on an area rug? You're already on concrete, so there's no need to spike it.

[codyc1ark]

Subdude. Or you can DIY With some mdf and heavy foam. Just google DIY subdude.

[wolfman1138]

Thanks for the Subdude tip. I looked at them a while back and had forgotten about them.

I like the idea of them. I want something that looks benign.

I have an SVS SB13-Plus that I haven't even gotten to use yet due to the theater destruction/construction.

I'm going to get the theater done and do some experiments. Maybe it will be fine on the cement, but I will experiment.

[F1nut]

We have a stained cement floor and plan on only using rugs for sparse damping.

Sparse being the key word. Carpet the entire floor, it'll sound a lot better. Then put spikes on everything.

[20hz]

your so right f1 , carpet is nice but pricey I found a good deal on some indoor/outdoor carpet many selections I think we just glued it down painted the walls used edge molding and crown molding around the top edge , when it was done we saved a ton of money and it looked good .

[erniejade]

I kind of did the same with my basement when we converted it. Indoor / outdoor cheap but, we just used carpet tape and so far, close to a year later it is still holding up ok.

[wolfman1138]

Alas, my issue with carpet is the flood risk I have in the basement. I bought the house and it was disclosed that there was "
some" water that leaked in the back corner. Flash forward 4 months and the sump got overwhelmed and we ended with 4-6 inches of water in the basement.

I have replaced the sump with one that can move 4x the water (with a redundant backup), sealed the basement walls, installed an auto-switch backup generator and installed a water alarm, but that is mitigation. I plan on keeping a healthy few inches of clearance on most things. Example: The bottom 3" of the walls are wood prevent water from wicking up the drywall. (I had to cut out 2' of everything after the flood.)

Needless to say, carpet is not in my near future, but washable rugs and the like are. :) I am building risers for the theater chairs, and will carpet the platforms, but not the sides. as for the subwoofer, I think I really like the Subdude to lift it up a few inches.

The only good news about the flood is that it bumped the Home Theater project to the top of the to do list. :)

Thanks for the advice so far.

[newrival]

4"-6" of water and you'll have more issues than replace some cheap carpet. Speakers/subs can't swim